-Carth-
I heard the voice, demanding the troopers to step aside.
Instinctively, my hands went to my sides and grabbed my blasters out of their holsters. "Karath."
Admiral Saul Karath, my old mentor, smiled sadistically at me. "Carth Onasi. It's been far too long. I see time has not been in your favor. I barely recognized you." he paused and his face almost resembled the man I used to admire. "I had only hoped this reunion would have been of you coming to your senses and join the winning side."
I snorted. "You're a fool, Saul. You betrayed the Republic when you attacked my home world." I sucked in a ragged breath, and felt Alora place a warm hand on my arm. I gently shrugged her off, my hate for the man standing before me taking me over. "My wife died in that attack, Saul. And I swear that I would kill you for it."
"Did you learn nothing in you're time under me?" Karath growled. "That was an act of war. You know that there are casualties involved. The Sith wouldn't accept me until I proved that I had turned my back on the Republic."
I lashed out, but was slightly electrocuted by the ray shield. "It was a cowardly act of betrayal!" I yelled. "My wife, and all of the innocent people on Telos - on Taris - they're blood is on your hands!"
"You used to be a man of action, not of empty threats. I thought I had taught you better than this."
"The only thing you taught me was betrayal."
"Enough!" he yelled, reaching over to a nearby control panel. Poisonous gases were released from the vents beneath us. We tried as hard as we could not to inhale the fumes, but it was too late.
"Put them into the torture cells. I must alert Lord Malak that they have been captured. I will be along shortly." He turned back to us, an accomplished look on his face.
"Now you will witness first hand how we Sith use our interrogation techniques."
That was the last thing we heard before losing consciousness.
-Alora-
Hours later, we awoke in the torture cells. I tried to sit up, but my head was pounding, it felt like a pack of wild banthas had trampled around in my skull. "Damn poison grenades." I laid back down and pinched the bridge of my nose.
Carth snorted. "Leaves a bad taste in your mouth doesn't it?"
I nodded, noticing the cotton-like texture in my mouth. "Reminds me of your morning breath, flyboy."
I heard what seemed to be a giggle come from Bastila's cell.
Carth winked at me, then turned a serious, angry look for Bastila and turned to her. "You think that's funny, huh, Princess?"
Bastila groaned. "I'm glad to see that nickname that Canderous gave me is catching on."
I finally managed to stand up and frowned. In lack of a better description, my Jedi senses tingled. "Shh," I instructed. "Someone comes."
The door opened, and Saul Karath entered, a pleased look on his face, with another Sith soldier who was clad in their traditional silver and black armor. "Well, it appears that it is your lucky day. Malak wants you alive."
Carth started to say something, but Karath interrupted him. "Shut up. You are an insignificant part of this anyway. Malak is more interested in your Jedi companions." he turned towards me. "And you're previous history with him..."
I frowned. "My history, what are you talking about, Karath?"
Was that a look of panic on Bastila's face?
Karath laughed. "You mean...you don't know?" his laughter became louder. "It cannot be true. Well, I will not deprive Malak of the pleasure. The Dark Lord will no doubt torture you for information, and for his own twisted pleasure. Eventually you will tell him everything. The Sith can be very persuasive." he paused and looked at each of us carefully. "However, Lord Malak is in another sector. It will be some time before he arrives. So I guess I will have to take his place until he arrive." He turned to his lackey. "Activate the torture field!"
Electricity shot through our cages and into us. I felt my knees begin to buckle beneath me as the white-hot pain shot through me. A scream tore through my throat. The pain was awful.
I could hear the tortured screams of my friends, they were louder than my own. I tried to feel into the Force and send a wave of healing power to them. Nothing. Just great, I thought as another wave of pain shot through me. These cages are Force resistant.
"Enough," I heard the admiral say. "I don't want them to pass out before question them. Lord Malak will be pleased with whatever information I can give him."
"Don't waist your breath, Saul. We won't answer your questions." Carth snapped. I could feel the anger roll from him.
"I'm sure you won't. However, we both know that your friend's loyalties have been somewhat...flexible in the past."
I closed my eyes, trying to control my own anger. "My loyalty is as true as Carth's."
Saul grinned. "Well, then it is time to put your loyalties to the test. I doubt torture will gain me your true cooperation, your will is too strong to be broken that way." he paused and shot a quick glance to Carth. "However, even the strongest of heroes have trouble watching the ones they care about suffering."
I looked over at Carth helplessly.
"The interrogation will begin now. Each time you fail to answer a question, or give a false answer, Carth will suffer,"
"You don't have to do this, Saul. Torture me all you want, just please don't hurt him."
Carth looked at me, pained. "My pain is meaningless. Tell him nothing."
Saul groaned. "I tire of these games. Now I want answers! On what planet is the Jedi Academy in which you trained?"
"Piss off, Karath."
"Very well." He sent a wave of electricity through Carth's cell. He screamed, his face twisted in pain, he grabbed the side of his head.
I felt my hands form into tight fists, leaving crescent moon shaped indents on my palm. I looked over at Bastila, unable to look at Carth. She averted my gaze.
"Enough." I turned my attention back to the admiral. I could hear Carth's heavy breathing ringing in my ears. "Again, where is the Academy in which you trained?"
I allowed myself to look over at Carth again, fear gripping my heart. He was looking at me, sitting on his knees. His mouth moved silently but no sounds came out. But his eyes spoke volumes. It hurts, but please don't let him force you to put our mission at risk because of me.
"Alderaan." I lied, hearing my voice crack. "The Academy is on Alderaan."
Karath snorted. "That question was a test. We already know that the academy is on Dantooine. And it has since been destroyed by our fleet."
Bastila snapped her head over to look at him, then at me.
"No, you're lying." I barked out.
"It doesn't matter if you believe me or not. Dantooine is nothing more than an empty graveyard now. Nothing remains but a smoking ruin and the charred remains of your former Masters!" he paused. "Now, tell me your mission. How were the Jedi planning to use you to stop Malak and our Sith armada?"
I glared at him. "I won't betray the Jedi."
His eyes narrowed. "Maybe a reminder will make you see a little more clearly." Another bolt of electricity shot through Carth.
"Do you not hear his suffering? You can spare him further pain by simply telling me what I want to know."
"You're a sick and evil man Saul Karath." At this, he intensified the torture. "Stop! You're going to kill him!"
"That's the plan."
I watched in horror as Carth's lifeless body crumpled to the floor of his cell. My knees finally gave way and I landed on all fours.
"I'm surprised he didn't pass out sooner. Never before have I seen someone withstand so much without losing consciousness after so long. I see I will not get any answers from you, so I will leave you with a taste of the pain that Lord Malak himself will inflict and you will see that my interrogations were merciful to others."
"You will pay for this, Karath," I managed to stammer out.
The only response I got was the white-hot pain of the torture fields, electricity rushing through my body until I lost consciousness.
-Carth-
I will kill you, Karath. I wasn't sure how long I had been out, but when I finally came to, Bastila was already meditating, sitting cross-legged in her cell. I glanced over to Alora. The electricity was still flowing through her cage, she was laying face down on the floor, unmoving, except for each shock that flowed, her body would jerk violently.
"Is she going to be okay?" I asked, sitting up, ignoring how badly my body ached from the torture.
Bastila opened her eyes. "She's...alive. If that's what you're asking."
"Can't you use your Force Heal thing?" I asked lamely. I could feel the panic rising through me. Why do I feel like I'm losing Morgana all over again?
The shot a look at me. "The Force is not a thing. Besides," she let out a long and heavy sigh. "these cages are Force Immune. There's nothing I can do."
Under any other circumstances, I would have probably been considered the luckiest man in the galaxy. Before throwing us into the containment cells, Saul's men had stripped us of all of our belongings, including our clothing. I tried my best to be a gentleman and not look at Alora. And it wasn't easy.
Suddenly, I remembered part of the conversation between Saul and Alora. Considering your history with Lord Malak...For some reason those words stuck in my mind. I turned back to Bastila. "What did Saul mean about Alora's history with Malak?"
She was about to answer when movement came from Alora's cell. Relief flooded over me.
"Don't try to move to quickly," Bastila whispered to her. "you may not be fully recovered yet. The Sith continued their torture on you, even after you passed out."
"They tortured all of us," I sighed as I watched her try to sit up but failing. "although, you got the worst of it by far." I wanted nothing more to rush over to her and comfort her. "Saul's become some sort of a...sadistic monster."
Alora finally managed to pull herself into a sitting position, but was having a hard time holding her head up. I could see her struggle to breath.
"He has been perverted by the dark side, Carth. Once you start down the tainted path, it leads you further into the depths of evil. I fear he is lost forever."
"No one...is...without hope...of redemption." I heard Alora force out raggedly.
Bastila sighed. "Yes, hmmm. I suppose you are correct. I guess I'm taking the destruction of Dantooine a little hard. It's hard to believe that's it gone. Vrook, Vandar, Zhar..." her voice trailed off and tears formed in her eyes.
"Maybe...he...was lying."
Bastila gave a short laugh. "I would like to think that Karath was lying to us, but even as he said the words, I knew they were true. The Academy is gone." she sighed. "At any rate, we've lost our only refuge in the galaxy."
"None of this will matter if we don't get the hell out of here before Malak arrives." I said.
"Where is the admiral now?" Alora asked, finally able to catch her breath.
"He went to inform the Dark Lord of our capture, and to prepare for his arrival." Bastila answered, pushing her mass of brown hair out of her face. She looked at me, but spoke to Alora. "It is fortunate that you were able to withstand Saul's interrogation. The smallest bit of information may have cost us the mission."
I couldn't take it any longer. I had to tell her. "I, uh, have to confess something."
Alora and Bastila looked at me, trying to read me.
"There was a moment - just a moment - when I wanted you to tell the admiral what he wanted to know..." I sighed. "Just to make the horrible pain stop."
Alora's eyes filled with regret. "I'm sorry, Carth. Watching you suffer tore me apart."
I smiled, despite myself. "No, I know you would never do anything to hurt me. You couldn't betray our cause." I looked directly into her eyes. "I'm glad you were strong. But if it had been me...watching you suffer like that..." I sighed again and rubbed the back of my sore neck. "I might have cracked."
Bastila frowned at me, but I didn't care. Suddenly, she had a strange look on her face, and turned back to Alora. "Did you feel that? A disturbance in the Force. Karath has sent his message. Lord Malak is coming."
I stood, on shaky legs. "Well, let's just hope Mission busts us out of here before he gets here."
Moments later, as if on cue, the doors to opened and our little blue Twi'lek friend entered with a smile that should have split her face in two. "Hi guys, sorry I'm late." she walked over and pulled a lever that opened our cages. Canderous, Jolee, and Juhani ran into the room.
I rushed over to Alora and helped her up, her body was still shaking uncontrollably, and allowed her to lean on me. "If I remember the layout of this ship correctly, our equipment should be in the next room." I stole glance down at Alora, and felt my face grow hot. "And, um, yeah. Get dressed."
Canderous grinned. "Nice undies, ladies."
Color cascaded across both Jedi's cheeks.
Mission picked the lock and we ran inside and gathered our belongings, shoving everything in packs, keeping out only the things we needed. We each dressed in the appropriate armor, grabbing medpacs and stims.
"Alright, what's the plan?" Canderous asked, hoisting the heavy pack on his heavy shoulders.
"Someone needs to get to the Ebon Hawk and get her started. But no doubt it's going to be under heavy lockdown." Alora stated, thinking out loud. "While the rest of us head to the bridge so we can get off this ship."
"Don't worry about that," Canderous said, glancing at Alora and Bastila. For some reason I couldn't shake the fact that he still had a mental picture of the girls in their underwear. He gestured towards Mission, Juhani, and Jolee. "We'll get to the Hawk and get 'er started." he looked over at me. "You're the pilot, you comin' with us?"
I shook my head. "Not a chance. I have a score to settle with the Admiral before we leave. Let's get going."
-Alora-
When we reached the bridge, Karath and a bunch of his soldiers were waiting for us. His eyes narrowed when we walked through the door. "Malak would have preferred live prisoners, but I suppose corpses will have to do."
Shots were fired, and we sprang into action. Leaping through the air, I headed towards the two Dark Jedi standing near Saul. I took the first one down easily, but the second was a hell of a fighter. Every move I made, he counter acted, every Force power I used, he stuck back with another. I used the Force to teel throughout the room, the only ones still standing were me, Carth, Bastila, The Dark Jedi I was fighting, and Saul Karath.
"Die already!" I screamed at the Dark Jedi. Having had enough, I leaped behind him and cut him down, just as a Saul pulled the trigger of his blaster, catching me in the side. I cried out in pain. I managed to get out a Force Push before I landed on the floor, sending Saul flying back against the ship's control center.
"Alora!"
I heard Carth and Bastila shout my name and I tried to pull myself off the floor, and push the body of the Dark Jedi off of me.
Bastila rushed over to me. "Are you alright?"
I nodded. "I'm fine." I looked over at Carth and gasped. His face was bright red and his chest heaved in anger. I stood, with Bastila's help, and grabbed his jacket and he brushed by. "Carth...please, it's not worth it."
He roughly pulled his arm free from my fingers. "He's hurt too many of the people I care about. This is my fight, Alora. Please stand down."
When I didn't move, he growled and pushed past me, and fired, nailing Saul directly in the chest. He was crumpled on the floor. "Carth...come closer. Must...tell you...something..."
I tried to move away from Bastila, but she kept a tight grip on me."Sit still. I need to heal you before you bleed to death." With both of our Force powers depleted, she injected a kolto pack into my side.
I watched as Carth leaned down to Saul. He whispered something in Carth's ear. The only thing that I could make out was "You didn't know did you?"
I closed my eyes as Carth raised his blaster and sent another shot into admiral's head. "Damn you, Saul. Damn you!"
I looked to Bastila, who's face paled.
"Bastila it's true isn't it? You knew this entire time! You and the whole damn Jedi Council!"
"Carth, please you don't understand - "
"So make me understand."
Finally able to stand on my own, I held my side and tried to heal myself, and it left me exhausted. "What's going on? What did he say?"
Carth glared at me, then turned back to Bastila. The look in his eye scared me. That's the same look he gave Saul.
"Carth, please, this isn't the time nor the place. Malak is approaching. We need to get the Ebon Hawk and get out of here before the Dark Lord arrives. Then I'll explain everything to you." she looked over at me. "To the both of you. Please, you have to trust me."
His eyes narrowed, and he wouldn't look at me. "Alright, I'll trust you, Bastila, but when we get out of here I want some answers!"
We left the bridge in silence and made our way back to the elevator. I could feel Carth keep stealing glances at me, but I had the feeling he wasn't checking on my injury. When I would catch his glance, he would turn away.
We headed up the ramp and all stopped in our tracks. A tall figure stood in our way.
Malak.
